Adopted Mommy

Well, so much has been going on lately! It's been really crazy and Dina hasn't had much time to do a lot of blogging, but here's the latest: On Saturday, June 28, Dina took the kids to meet up with her sorority sister/college roomate for lunch while her friend was up from Riverside. This was the first time all the kids were together. It was a short lunch, but great to see Grace and her hubby so happy with their son! The food at Elephant Bar was excellent too! Dina then drove to Stockton for her baby cousin's 3rd birthday! It was at the house where Dina grew up! Of course it was princess themed. They had a castle bouncehouse, which Katarina took to for the first time. The little kiddie pool was set up, too. David wasn't too sure about that, but it was a lot of fun. Brianna's big sister made the Ariel cake in the picture above! Cecy just finished culinary school not too long ago in San Francisco. After cake and presents, Dina drove with the kids back...

Ok, so it's been awhile, but we've been CRAZY BUSY! Jeff is now a car saleman at Stan Morri Ford in Tracy (go see him if you want a good deal!) and so his hours are long. Dina feels like a single mom and any family events have been without Jeff. But, here are a few things that have been going on.... Dina took Katarina in to have her hair trimmed and noticed someone with the cute bob cut. She decided once Jeff came home, she would cut her hair. Originally she planned to wait until it was long enough to donate, but with the wicked hot weather and starting back up teaching in Tracy Unified, a new look was called for. Plus, Dina turns 30 on Monday, so she felt like she needed to do something wild for it! Father's Day was hard with out Jeff. He worked (as ALL car saleman do) on Sunday, but Dina tried her best to fix breakfast for him before he had to go in. Dina then took the kids to Modesto to meet up with her dad, step mom and bro's (with their significant others)...

No, it's not for us again! LOL! Dina's brother and girlfriend are expecting a boy in July. A family baby shower was organized at the Stockton Ball Room yesterday. Good food and company made for a wonderful afternoon! Everyone enjoyed the kids and of course Katarina helped out with opening gifts for her future cousin! This little boy is going to be SPOILED!!!

we brought Katarina home! Two years ago today was her first official day home and the day we became parents. So many memories we've experienced with her, it's still hard to believe it's been two years. Our little princess has been a wonderful addition to our entire family. Looking through all her baby pictures amazes us how far she has come. It was a difficult transition for her to adjust to our home and "crazy" extended family. The all seemed like strangers to her and all anyone ever wanted to do was love her! Now, she has no problems talking to the Target cashier asking for a penny! LOL! Katarina Ann is definitely a keeper!

This is Dina's 3rd year celebrating Mother's Day! This was the first as a mommy of 2. Poor David hadn't been feeling well last week, but seemed to be better. But, as luck would have it, he had an episode (the details will be spared) just as we were ready to head out the door to Lodi for brunch with Dina's mom. So, Jeff stayed home with David while Dina took Katarina to celebrate Mother's Day with Grandma! Then we met up in Modesto later on that afternoon with Papa and Cita to wish Dina's step mom a Happy Mother's Day. Katarina was so well behaved, considering she woke up at 5:30 in the morning and only had a little catnap in the car on the way to Lodi! What a trooper! But, that meant an early bedtime tonight! Woo-hoo! :) Hope everyone else had an enjoyable day today!

Yesterday was our 7 year anniversary! It just amazing how fast time flies. So much has happened over the years. We used to always make it a point to celebrate by taking a trip. Kids definitely redirect priorities. But, that doesn't mean we don't take time to remember the day we exchanged vows. Saturday night we were able to enjoy dinner at Elephant Bar au deux! That was a lovely treat to have a decent dinner not having to worry about kids. For our actual anniversary dinner we cooked salmon and rice. Dina made chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. After the kids were put to bed, we enjoyed those with some champagne. Yum-O! :)

Well, Katarina will be 3 years old in less than 6 months and fortunately we never went through the whole climbing out of the crib period with her. She slept in her crib this whole time. The other day, however, she did NOT want to nap. She was overtired and was just plain crabby. When Katarina was placed in her crib, she was upset and started trying to climb out. We could see this from the video baby monitor we still have in her room. Jeff and Dina both kept watch on the monitor and eventually she fell asleep without actually getting out of her crib. But, we decided it was time we take down her convertible crib and turn it into a toddler daybed this morning. She was so excited to get her "big girl" bed and she actually did quite well today at nap time. Mommy, of course, used this photo op for her scrapbook page!